Stay Tonight
by BandBfan24
Summary: Steph leaves him every night and he wants to know why. Estabished Babe based on an Enrique Iglesias song.


Disclaimer: Let's get this crap out of the way… y'all know I don't own the Plum Series or

this song. If I did… I wouldn't need to write fanfiction now would I?

A/N: I listen to my iPod all day at work and get lots of ideas. I loved to Enrique Iglesias's album, Insomniac, so don't be surprised if I write more stories inspired by his music. The song that

inspired this is Stay Here Tonight by Enrique Iglesias.

This was originally written for House, M.D. fanfiction, but I decide to tweak it to fit the Plum Series.

**STAY HERE TONIGHT**

Ranger woke up as she slid from his bed. He struggled to keep his breathing even. They had been dating for a couple of month and sleeping together for the last six weeks. No, not sleeping together. They were having sex. She had never spent the night, not even on the weekends. When he woke up she would always be gone, leaving a note behind.

At first he didn't mind, but now it was starting to bother him. He was beginning to wonder if she didn't want to be with him. He was always the one to initiate their dates. She seemed happy, but he doubted it when she waited until he fell asleep to leave. He knew there was a reason for it, because it wasn't like her to give up her sleep, she liked it too much. A few times, he had told her that she didn't need to leave.

She always had a reason to go. Work, shopping, house cleaning, laundry, it was always something.

This past week, she had been over nearly every night and she was always gone when he awoke. The last three nights he had pretended to be asleep. She would slide out of his arms and out of his bed. She dressed quickly and quietly in the dark before she came to beside the bed, whisper goodbye and then leave.

He didn't want her to leave. He wanted to know what it would be like to wake up next to her morning after morning, but she never gave him the chance to find out.

Tonight he wanted to know why.

She came to his side of the bed, but he spoke before she could.

"You know you don't have to leave." He said softly. In the low light he saw her jump slightly.

"I know, but I have some stuff that I need to take care of in the morning."

"It's late and you're tired." He said as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"That's why I need to go." She told him as she walked closer. He thought for a second that she had changed her mind, but he was wrong. She gave him a quick kiss and walked out of the room.

Ranger slipped on his black silk boxers and followed her to the living room. He didn't understand what was going on.

"You could be here sleeping by the time it would take you to get home. I don't mind if you stay."

"I told you I have things to do." She replied.

Ranger watched her as she put on her shoes. She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"You're lying." He snapped.

"No, I'm not." She responded sharply.

"Well if you're not lying, then you're holding something back." He could tell by the way her body stiffened for a second that he'd hit the nail on the head that time.

"Do you want out of this?" He gestured between the two of them. "Is it not what you thought it would be?"

This time she did meet his eyes and he saw shock in her eyes.

"Of course not." She protested. "I want to be with you."

"Then why is that I am the one that has to initiate all of our dates and time we spend together? Why won't you spend the night here?" He asked.

"What was one of your fears about starting a relationship with me?" She asked calmly.

"Huh?" He was taken aback at the turn of the discussion.

"You probably feared that I would be some clingy girlfriend who would never leave you alone." She didn't need for him to say anything to know how right she had been. "Do you want me to stay?"

"I just told you I did." He insisted angrily.

"NO YOU DIDN'T!" She shouted. She closed in on him and poked him in the chest with her finger. "You never do. You say its late or that I don't have to go or you don't mind if I stay or I can stay if 'I' want to. You never 'ask' me to stay or tell me that 'you' would like for me to stay or that 'you' want me to stay."

He opened his mouth to speak but she didn't give him a chance to.

"One reason I let you initiate whatever time we spend together is because that's how 'I' know that you want to be with me. Another reason is because I don't want to crowd you. I finally convinced you to give us a chance and I don't want to risk losing you by pushing you for more than you want to give. So if you want more then all you have to do is ask, because I love you and I'll give you as

much or as little as you want. The only thing I don't want is to lose you."

The stood staring at each other as her words sank in. She loved him.

"You love me?" He asked with a ragged voice and saw her take a deep breath.

"I didn't mean to blurt it out like that, in the middle of an argument, but yes, I do." She smiled at him softly. "I love you Carlos."

He just stood there and stared at her.

"Carlos, just because I said it doesn't mean you have to say it back. I know you care for me." She laid a hand on his chest and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly. "Now go back to bed and I'll call you in the morning."

She went to the front door. She fully intended to give him time to assimilate what she had just said.

"Babe." His voice stopped her. "Wait."

She turned to look at him. He stood clenching his jaw so hard that she could see the muscles in his jaw twitch. She knew this was hard for him so she waited patiently.

Ranger stood there staring at the floor. He didn't want her to leave. He was freaked out by her declaration of love, although nowhere near as badly as the thought he would be. He thought about the time they spent together. If felt right to be with her. He'd pushed her away before because he'd been afraid of this. He didn't want her hurt and he'd been hurting her unintentionally. He needed her. He needed her with him, loving him. He hadn't realized how much until she'd left him each night. With her, he felt less alone and for the first time in his life he knew what contentment felt like. He knew he couldn't let her leave him again. Now or ever.

Slowly, he raised his head to look at her.

"Will you stay here tonight?" He asked softly. "I want you to stay."

She graced him with a smile that made her seem as if she was lit from within. He had never seen her look more beautiful. She took his breath away. Stephanie dropped her things and went to him. She stopped just a breath away from him and smirked up at him.

"Don't mind if I do. Thanks for asking." He returned her grin until she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

THE END


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